Antenna mast installation tool



Jan. 1, 1957 J. o. BITZ EIAL ANTENNA MAST INSTALLATION TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1953 IN VEN TORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1, 57 o. BITZ ETAL ,IAN'IVENNA MAST INSTALLATION TOOL Filed June 5-, 1953 mm Na z 3 2 7 we 0 w J. 6 W 703,. 41 F 5, My 5 Z J 1 m y fi/ A 1 w, MW j w W; m p w 3 flaw; fl 9 4/ w m M w W4 w nrrae/vsys.

United States Patent ANTENNA MAST INSTALLATION TOOL John 0. Bitz, West Reading, and Stanley G. Seltz, Reading, Pa.

Application June 5, 1953, Serial No. 359,859

Claims. (Cl. 294-23) This invention relates to a tool to facilitate the ad dition of an extension mast to the upper end of a previously installed main antenna mast, and more particularly, has reference to a tool of the character referred to which is so designed as to permit the extension mast to be readily erected on the main mast, without the necessity of taking down the main mast or climbing to a location adjacent the upper end of said main mast. The invention, accordingly, can be appropriately considered as constituting a device whereby an extension member can be securely mounted upon the upper end of an elongated, veitical member, from a location adjacent the base of said elongated, vertical member.

The use of U. H. F. antennas is becoming more and more wide spread, and in view of the fact that very often, a U. H. F. antenna is to be installed where a V. H. F. antenna has been previously erected, it is customary to mount the extension mast having the U. H. F. antenna thereon directly upon the upper end of the previously installed main mast having a V. H. F. antenna.

It will be appreciated, in this connection, that in many instances, a V. H. P. antenna is installed upon a roof of a house or other building structure, and it will be further appreciated that often, the V. H. F. mast rises to a substantial height. Particularly is this true in fringe areas in which V. H. F. reception is not good unless a high antenna is erected.

The main object of the present invention, accordingly, is to permit an extension mast such as that utilized for supporting a U. H. F. antenna, to be erected directly upon the upper end of a previously installed main mast, without the requirement of taking down or dismantling the main mast and without the requirement, further, of the workers endangering himself by climbing upwardly from the base of the main mast.

Another object of importance is to provide an installation tool of the character referred to which not only will permit the extension mast to be erected upon the main mast with the worker standing at the base of the main mast or at some other location spaced well below the upper end of the main mast, but also will reduce measurably the time and labor involved in making an installation of the type stated.

Another object of importance is to provide an installation device as stated, that will be so designed as to first effect the elevation of an extension mast, then effect the wedging of the extension mast in the upper end of the main mast by the exertion of downward pressure upon the extension mast, and finally, effect the connection of one or more lead-in stand-offs to the main and extension masts, with all these operations being controlled from a location remote from the upper end of the main mast.

Yet another object is to provide an installation device as stated which, apart from its adaptability for elevating and mounting extension masts, will also be usable as a tool for connecting stand-off insulators to an antenna mast, whether or not an extension is to be erected at the upper end of the antenna mast.

A further object of importance is to provide an in= stallation tool as stated which will be simple in design, and will have a minimum of relatively movable parts.-

Other objects will appear from the following descrip-' tion, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an installation tool formed in accordance with the present invention, as it appears when in use, the tool being shown in supporting relation to an extension mast, with said extension mast being illustrated as it appears immediately prior to wedging thereof in the upper end of a previously installed main mast;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the tool after wedging of the extension mast into the upper end of the main mast, the tool being illustrated as it appears after being disengaged from the extension mast, and while being used in attaching a stand-off to the extension mast;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view showing the upper end portion of the tool;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the tool per se;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the tool taken from the left of Figure 4, the lower portion of the tool being broken away;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the tool on an enlarged scale;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view on line 88 of Figure 4, on an enlarged scale, showing a clamp assembly used for elevating the extension mast preliminary to wedging of the extension mast into the main mast.

Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the top portion of the handle having the stand-01f assembly applied thereto.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the drawings to a main or V. H. F. antenna mast, and the reference numeral 12 has been similarly applied to an extension or U. H. F. mast. As shown in the drawing, said masts are provided with V. H. F. and U. H. F. antenna devices, these being conventional per se.

The tool used for mounting the extension mast 12 upon the main mast 10, and constituting the present invention, has been designated generally by the reference numeral 14. It will be noted, in this connection, that the tool is utilized to elevate the extension mast 12 and thereafter effect wedging of the lower end of the extension mast in the open upper end of the main mast, the extension mast having a plurality of circumferentially arranged longitudinal tongues 16 to faciltate wedging of the extension mast.

The tool 14 includes an elongated handle or a main tubular member 18, the tubular member 18 being of substantial length, and being straight from end to end, in a preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be understood, in this regard, that the tubular member 18 can be of any length desired, it being preferred that the length of the member be such as to facilitate the elevation of an extension mast 12 to a position above the upper end of a main mast 10 of substantial height.

In any event, regardless of the length of the member 18, the overall length of the tool can be increased through the utilization of one or more extension members 20. Extension member 20, in the illustrated example of the invention, has an axial extension 22 at one end thereof, the extension 22 telescoping in the lower end of the member 18. Screws 24 are 'extendable laterally and inwardly of the telescoped portions of the members 18, 20, to fixedly secure said members against relative sep" aration.

The member 18, intermediate its ends, is provided with an extension mast support or clamp assembly designated generally by the reference numeral 26. Assembly 26 has been shown to particular advantage in Figure 8, and includes an elongated, straight shank 28 of rod material welded intermediate its ends, as at 30, to the outer surface of the member 18. The shank 28 is arranged transversely of the member 18, and is disposed tangentially to the member 18 when the member 18 is considered in cross section.

At one end, the shank 28 is formed with a hook 32, said hook 32 being defined by bending the shank end rearwardly in the general direction of the other end of the shank. The purpose of the hook 32 will be presently made apparent, hereinafter.

Carried by that end of the shank 28 remote from the hook 32 are relatively elongated clamp arms 34 of spring metal material. The clamp arms 34 are welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the opposite side surfaces of a base block 35 fixedly secured to the adjacent end of the shank 28. The clamp arms 34 are arranged longitudinally of the shank 28, projecting beyond said end on which the block 35 is mounted. At their free ends, the clamp arms 34 are integrally formed with outwardly bowed clamping portions 36 adapted to grip between them the midlength portion of the extension mast 12. The clamping portions 36, to be assured of a good grip upon the extension mast, may be provided with roughened rubber facings 38 on their inner surfaces, For the purpose of permitting adjustments of the clamping arms toward and away from one another, there is provided a bolt 40 extending through transversely aligned, smooth walled openings in the clamp arms 34 intermediate the opposite ends of said clamp arms, a wing nut being applied to said bolt for the purpose of forcing the clamp arms toward one another to vary the spacing between the clamping portions 36.

It will be seen that the clamp assembly 26 can be engaged with the mid-length portion of an extension mast 12, prior to elevation of the extension mast to the position shown in Figure 1. Subsequently, when the extension mast has been secured to the upper end of the main mast in the manner shown in 'Figure 2, the member 18 can be pulled outwardly, away from the extension mast, thus to withdraw the clamping portions 36 from engagement with the extension mast.

At its upper end, the member 18 is provided with a combined pressure hook and stand-off mounting assembly 42. Assembly 42 includes a hook member 44 one end portion of which is disposed longitudinally of and is fixedly secured to the upper end portion of the member 18. The other end portion of the hook member 44 is bent in the general direction of the lower end member 18, said other end portion, as shown in Figure 4, being spaced laterally and outwardly from the member 18 and being inclined slightly out of parallelism with said member 13. The hook member 44, in this connection, is spaced longitudinally of the member 18 from the clamping assembly 26, and is disposed above said clamping assembly, so as to locate the downwardly bent free end of hook member 44 above the clamping portions 36 of the assembly 26.

By reason of this arrangement, it will be seen that when the extension mast 12 is assembled with the installation tool prior to elevation of the extension mast, the downwardly extended free end portion of the hook member 44 can first be inserted in the upper end of the extension mast 12, after which the member 18 is swung inwardly toward the extension mast to cause the extension mast to be gripped between the clamping portions 36 of the assembly 26.

Straddling the anchored end portion of the hook member 44, and also constituting a part of the assembly 42, is the bight portion 46 of a stand-off support bracket formed of a single piece of material, with the end portions of said piece of material being shaped to provide bracket members 48, 50 respectively.

The bracket members 48, 50 are spaced apart transversely of the member 18, as shown in Figure 6, and as best shown in Figure 3, the bracket member 48 is provided, intermediate its ends, with an upwardly opening notch 52. At its free end, the bracket member 48 is curved backwardly in the general direction of the member 18, the curved free end of the bracket member 48 being cut away as at 54, for a purpose to be made presently apparent.

In the bracket member 50, there is formed an upwardly opening notch 56, said notch 56 being adapted to support one end of the shank portion of a lead-in stand-off designated generally by the reference numeral 58 (see Figure 2). The other end of the shank of said stand-off is supported within the notch 52.

The stand-off constitutes a separate invention, and accordingly, will not be described in full detail hereinafter. It is believed sufficient to note that at its inner end, the stand-off is provided with a U-clamp 60 adapted to engage the extension mast 12, or for that matter, the main mast 10, at a selected location. At its other or outer end, the stand-ofi is provided with a ring means 64 through which is extendable the antenna lead-in 66. The ring means 64 will be engaged in the curved end portion of the bracket member 48, the cutting away of said curved end portion being adapted to facilitate the insertion of said ring means therein. The curved end portion constitutes an abutment for the outer end of the stand-off, and as a result, when the stand-01f is supported within the bracket members 48, 50 in the manner shown in Figure 2, and is shifted radially and inwardly of the mast by manipulation of the member 18, said stand-off will grip the mast at its inner end, after which the member 18 can be lowered to disengage the shank portion of the stand-off from the notches 52, 56. The engagement of the clamp means at the inner end of the stand-off with the antenna mast is effected, of course, by pressure of the curved end portion of bracket member 48 against the outer end of the standoff, during the radial and inward movement of the standofif.

By reason of the construction illustrated and described, it will be seen that in use of the tool, the worker may stand adjacent a chimney C on which the main mast is installed. In other words, the worker can remain upon the structure on which the main mast is erected, and can install an extension mast upon the upper end of the main mast without first taking down the main mast. The worker will first connect the extension mast 12 to the tool constituting the present invention in the manner shown in Figure 1, that is, the free end of hook member 44 will be extended into the upper end of the extension mast, while the clamping portions 36 will be grippingly engaged with the intermediate portion of the extension mast. The device is now raised, and after it has been positioned above the upper end of the main mast, is lowered so as to cause the tapered bottom end of the extension mast to be wedged in the upper end of the main mast. To insure that the extension mast will be firmly wedged in the main mast, downward pressure is exerted on the extension mast, through the medium of the hook member 44.

Thereafter, the member 18 is swung outwardly from the installed extension mast, disengaging the clamp assembly 26 from the extension mast, and the hook member 44 is now lifted out of the upper end of the extension mast.

The worker now connects the stand-off insulators to the lead-in cable 66, and supports the stand-off insulators, in turn, upon the bracket members 48, 50. The lifting of the tool and the supported stand-0E, While holding the lead-in cable 66, will cause the stand-01f to be shifted longitudinally of the lead-in, until it is disposed at the proper location upon the antenna mast at which the standoif is to be connected to the antenna mast. The member 18 is now shifted radially and inwardly of the antenna mast, to connect the stand-off to said mast. Subsequent stand-oifs can be secured to the antenna mast, at selected locations along the length thereof, in the same manner.

The entire installation is carried out, of course, without requirement of dismantling of the previously installed main mast, and without the risk of physical injury that might otherwise be suffered if one were to attempt to climb to a precarious position upon the building structure. Further, the entire installation is carried out in a minimum amount of time, as compared to the time now required in making such installations, thus reducing considerably the cost of installation.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necesssarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tool for manipulating, from a remote location, an antenna extension mast onto a vertical main antenna mast in coaxial alignment with the main mast, comprising an elongated handle; means extending laterally therefrom adapted to dispose the extension mast longitudinally of and in laterally spaced relation to the main mast, for lifting the extension mast onto the upper end of the main mast from said location; and a hook on the handle spaced longitudinally of the handle from said means, and having a free end projecting longitudinally of the handle toward the means in laterally spaced relation to the handle, the hook being extendable into the upper end of the extension mast for, in succession, holding the extension mast against lateral deviation from the position in which it is supported by said means, and exerting downward pressure against the extension mast in an axial direction tending to force the extension mast into the upper end of the main mast.

2. A tool for manipulating, from a remote location, an antenna extension mast onto a vertical main antenna mast in coaxial alignment with the main mast, comprising an elongated handle; a clamp extending laterally therefrom adapted to hold the extension mast in a position at an acute angle to the main mast and in laterally spaced relation to the main mast, for lifting the extension mast onto the upper end of the main mast from said location, and a hook on the handle spaced longitudinally thereof from said clamp and having an elongated free end portion projecting longitudinally of the handle toward the clamp at an acute angle to the handle corresponding to that at which the extension mast is supported relative to the main mast, the hook being extendable into the upper end of the extension mast for, in succession, holding the extension mast against deviation from said position, and exerting downward pressure against the extension mast in an axial direction tending to force the extension mast into the upper end of the main mast.

3. A tool for manipulating, from a remote location, an antenna extension mast onto a vertical main antenna mast incoaxial alignmentwith the main mast, comprising an elongated handle; a clamp extending laterally therefrom adapted to hold the extension mast in a position at an acute angle to the main mast and in laterally spaced relation to the main mast, for lifting the extension mast onto the upper end of the main mast from said location, a hook on the handle spaced longitudinally thereof from said clamp and having an elongated free end portion projecting longitudinally of the handle toward the clamp at an acute angle to the handle corresponding to that at which the extension mast is supported relative to the main mast, the hook being extendable into the upper end of the extension mast for, in succession, holding the extension mast against deviation from said position, and exerting downward pressure against the extension mast in an axial direction tending to force the extension mast into the upper end of the main mast, the other end portion of the hook extending in longitudinal contact with the handle, and a standoff support bracket formed from a single piece of material shaped to include, intermediate its ends, a bight portion straddling the other end portion of the hook and, at its ends, bracket members both shaped to support a lead-in standoff, one bracket member having an abutment adapted to engage the standoff against movement transversely of the handle in one direction.

4. In an antenna mast installation tool, means for mounting a lead-in standoff upon an antenna mast from a location remote from the mast, comprising, in combination with an elongated handle, a length of strap metal material bent about and fixedly secured to said handle, said length of material including a bight portion straddling the handle and end portions projecting laterally in difierent directions from the handle, both of said end portions being curved, said end portions having notches aligned tangentially of the handle to support a lead-in standolf in position transversely of the handle, for movement of the standoff in a direction axially thereof toward a mast on which it is mounted, one of said end portions being curved to receive a correspondingly curved portion on one end of the standoff, and engaging said standoff portion to hold the standofi against movement from its position relative to the handle.

5. In an antenna mast installation tool, means for mounting upon an antenna mast, from a location remote from the mast, a lead-in standoff having a shank, a mastengaging clamp at one end, and a lead-in cable-engagingportion at its other end comprising, in combination with an elongated handle a single length of material fixedly secured intermediate its ends to said handle, one end portion of said length of material projecting laterally from the handle in one direction and the other end portion projecting laterally from the handle in a dilferent direction, the first end portion having an upwardly opening notch and the second end portion having an upwardly opening notch aligned with the first notch tangentially of the handle, said notches being adapted to receive opposite end portions of the shank of the standoff, the first named end portion being curved longitudinally complementarily to the mast-engaging clamp of the standofi, to constitute an abutment engaging said clamp to hold the clamp against movement away from the antenna mast when the clamp is being shifted into a mast-engaging position, the other end portion being curved oppositely to the first mast portion and being adapted to support the cable-receiving portion of the standoff.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 520,706 Redmond May 29, 1894 693,200 Wilkin Feb. 11, 1902 909,729 Wollam Jan. 12, 1909 

